The Malaysian palm oil industry is recognised as setting the world's highest standards of sustainable rainforest management and oil-palm cultivation (If we want to save the planet, we need a five-year freeze on biofuels, March 27). Over the past 50 years, oil-palm expansion in Malaysia has used land mainly converted from former rubber, cocoa and coconut cultivation, and no rainforest land has been used since 1990. Less than 20% of Malaysia is used for agriculture, with more than 60% dedicated to permanent rainforest - a proportion that has not changed for the last 10 years, and is governed by national law.

The fear that palm bio-diesel demand in the EU will prompt uncontrolled expansion of plantations and further erode tropical forests and the habitat of the orangutan is unfounded as far as Malaysia is concerned. No peat land in Malaysia is burned to clear ground for new plantations. With a "zero" burning policy, trees are mechanically felled, shredded and left to decompose, producing 90-100 tonnes of organic matter per hectare. Undesirable chemicals are banned and oil-palm growers focus on natural fertilisers like biomass from old trees and palm stems. But we realise there is more the industry needs to do to achieve an acceptable balance. This commitment is reflected in our participation in the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, which is finalising standards and processes for a certification scheme.Dr Yusof BasironCEO, Malaysian Palm Oil Council